


Throughout the Years

by thefrenchmilitary



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hogwarts, Marauders' Era, POV Third Person, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-07-14 06:51:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16035218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefrenchmilitary/pseuds/thefrenchmilitary
Summary: (Y/n) befriends a group of teasing, trouble making boys during her first year at Hogwarts. Although they are all close, there's no denying that she forms a special connection with one of them over time.





	1. Year 1

**Meeting:**

(Y/n) carefully followed Professor Slughorn’s instructions, but now that school had been in session for a month things were moving a bit faster. Potions was a favored subject of hers, however this new pace was doing her no favors. She _thought_ she was doing everything correctly, but the uncertainty gave her no peace of mind. There had already been two times within this latest set of instructions where she wondered what it was the Professor was talking about. Had she measured everything correctly? Was the margin of error within the allotted frame of reference? 

She blew air on to her forehead and hoped for the best. That was all she could do at this point. The potion was nearly finished and just needed a few movements of her wand. She grew increasingly anxious as the potions of a few students behind her flew out of their cauldrons in a thick sloppy bunch. Clearly they had done something wrong. 

Slightly nervous, she lifted her wand and and waved it in one swift motion. The potion bubbled a bit and slowly began to settle. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and she breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“Excellent herbicide potion Miss. (l/n),” Professor Slughorn praised after taking a look inside her cauldron. (Y/n) instantly beamed at the praise. 

“Thank you Professor.” 

As Slughorn continued his rounds of the classroom, he stopped a few rows back. “Very good Mr. Lupin. This is might be the best potion I’ve seen today.” 

(Y/n) looked over her shoulder and saw the Professor standing by a tall, lanky boy with light brown hair and a scar on his cheek. The boy quietly thanked Slughorn before looking down to write something on the parchment in front of him. Next to him, two boys who’s potion had had less success playfully mocked his perfect creation. They were soon joined by another boy behind them. 

(Y/n) hummed to herself and returned to her work. Ever since she found out she would be attending Hogwarts she told herself she’d do whatever it took to become a star student. She had always been academically inclined and competitive, so she refused to do anything less than her absolute best. 

Which is exactly why she tracked down and cornered this so called “Mr. Lupin” after class. 

“Hey!” She darted out of the classroom and caught him by the sleeve of his robe. He turned to face her in confusion along with his three friends, but that wasn’t about to deter her. “You’re Lupin, right?” 

All four boys stared at her for a second before Lupin responded. “Remus, actually. Did you need something?” 

(Y/n) looked off to the side and gave a crooked grin. “Oh right, it’s weird that they call us by our last names around here.” She focused her eyes back on him. “You’re pretty good at potions, right? I was hoping you could give me some pointers so I can get better.” 

Remus began to open his mouth and the hesitation was evident on his face. (Y/n) was sure she was about to get turned down, but one of Remus’ friends jumped in. 

“He’d love to! In fact, we could all start our own study group.” The boy who spoke wore circle framed glasses. 

“We could?” The shortest of the boys knit his brows together. 

“Absolutely! Sirius and I were a mess back there and we could all use the extra help.” The glasses clad boy smiled cheekily and tapped the boy with long black hair on the shoulder. “Right Sirius?” 

“Of course! It’d be an honor to study with...umm...” 

“(Y/n).” 

“(Y/n)! Yes, we’d all love to study with you!” He finished his sentence with a charming smile. At least, it would have been charming to most girls. (Y/n) seemed a little put off by it. 

“Well that’s great! Let’s all meet at the library after classes,” she suggested. 

“Perfect! We’ll see you there!” With that, the two ringleaders of the group carefully lead the others away. Once (y/n )was out of earshot, they began to bicker among themselves. 

“What were you two thinking?! Why would you agree to that?!” Remus hissed at his friends in a hushed whisper. “You two have never opened a book in your lives and you expect me to believe you want to form a study group?!” 

“Relax,” James said. “We just want to get to know that girl. Having her around might be interesting.” 

“What makes you think she’ll be interesting,” Peter asked. 

“She’s a girl, Peter. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t at least a bit intriguing.” 

“Besides, if we decide we don’t like her we can always stop going to the library,” Sirius added. “This is a victim-less crime.” 

“You’re all impossible,” Remus sighed. 

The rest of the school day flew by in a rush. (Y/n) packed up her things and quickly headed over to the library. She was sure she was the first of the group to arrive so she claimed a table for them by the wall. Laying out her books, she kept a sharp eye out for the boys. 

It turned out she didn’t need to look very hard to find them. They entered the library in a loud, collective unit. Several students shot them dirty looks and the librarian told them to lower their voices. Unfortunately, they seemed to have volume control problem. Anyone could hear what they were saying even if they whispered. 

“Remus! I’m glad you could make it,” (y/n) whispered. “What should we start on first?" 

“Well I was thinking we could go over---” 

“Introductions,” the boy with long black hair cut in. “I’m Sirius. This is James,” he gestured to the boy in glasses, “and Peter,” he nodded his head towards the shortest boy. 

“Hi,” (y/n) said meekly. 

“Now that that’s out of the way, I think we should go over tomorrow’s chapter.” Remus put his potions textbook in front of him and flipped it open to the fifth chapter. (Y/n) quickly followed suit and the pair began to read. 

It didn’t take long for her to figure out why the other boys had failed so miserably during that morning’s lesson. Sirius made a show of comically turning his book every which way as if he were trying very hard to find something within its contents while James opted to poke fun at stressed looking students at other tables. Peter had been good about reading the chapter at first, but he quickly lost interest and was now using the open book as a pillow for his sleeping head. 

“Sirius, what are you doing with that book?” Remus put down his quill at stared at his friend. 

“Isn’t to obvious? I’m trying to read.” Sirius spun the book around on the table. 

“Good luck with that. I have a hard time believing you could read anything more complicated than a picture book,” Remus said, but there was no malice to his words. In fact, he let out a lighthearted chuckle afterwards. 

(Y/n)'s brow creased as she frowned. “I don’t get what’s so funny. We came here to study and we’re the only ones doing any work.” She swept her hand over the two pieces of parchment she and Remus had been filling with notes. 

“Not true,” James cut in. “I’ve been doing plenty of work. I’ve spotted at least three pairs of students who fancy each other and another who’s on the brink of a mental breakdown.” 

(Y/n) couldn’t help her condescending tone. “And that helps us how?" 

“Isn’t there some old saying that goes all knowledge is good knowledge? It might not seem like it now, but the information I’ve gathered might be helpful one of these days.” 

“Yeah, sure,” (y/n) snorted. She turned her attention to Remus. “Is it always like this with these two?” 

“You have no idea.” 

The five students continued their shenanigans until the entire chapter was covered. They all said their goodbyes as the boys headed off to the Gryffindor common room and (y/n) went to to the (house) common room. Even though sixty percent of their study group did absolutely nothing, (y/n) felt she was more than prepared to tackle tomorrow’s potions class. 

**Defense Against the Dark Arts:**

While it was true that Remus was good at potions, he was on a whole other level when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts. (Y/n) watched as he skillfully used the knockback jinx. The spell was so potent that the poor student dueling him was launched to the other side of the room. (Y/n) flinched as she remembered her dueling match a few rounds before this one. She had been the one to be sent flying by her opponent. 

Once class came to a close, she jogged over to Remus and his group. They had all become closer during the weeks since they started their study group and even though they were still prone to goofing off (y/n) had to admit things were a lot nicer when they were around. 

“That was amazing Remus! I wish I could cast powerful jinxes like that. I don’t understand why this class is so difficult for me!” Pouting, she gave the Professor’s back a sad look. No matter how much she paid attention to the lectures her spells for this class never turned out very strong. 

“It’s not your fault,” Remus assured her. “I think in order to fight _against_ the dark arts you have to _understand_ them to a degree. Your wand has unicorn hair at its core so it'd be hard to turn it towards the dark arts.” 

Scooping up her things, (y/n) dejectedly followed the boys out into the hall. “Still, I really want to get better! The dark arts have always interested me.” 

Peter nudged her side. “Don’t tell me you’re going to go all dark wizard on us.” 

“No way, she’s too awful at the class to become a threat,” Sirius teased. “She’d be lucky if she could take down a bunny.” 

Huffing, (y/n) faced him. “I do way better in our classes than you do, Remus is nearly a certified genius, and James can fly so well that he’s been offered a spot on the Quidditch team. Tell me Sirius, what do you do successfully?” 

James, Peter, and Remus laughed at her sass. Sirius gave them all a quick glare before regaining his cool. 

“I’m the attractive one in our group. I’d say I’m a successful visual.” 

“Please mate, you could break a mirror with your ugly mug,” James teased. 

Their group continued their banter down the hall and into their next class. Just as they were getting ready to sit down, Remus leaned over to whisper in (y/n)'s ear. 

“I’d be happy to help you work on the knockback jinx after classes. We can even use the guys as targets.” 

(Y/n) smirked. “Sounds good to me.” 

**Quidditch:**

“Oh my god, he’s going to die.” (Y.n) anxiously covered her mouth with her hands as she watched the quidditch game unfold. Brooms were whizzing by at record speed as the players tried to one up their opponents. In the middle of it all was James, who was flying the fastest out of everyone. 

“Relax, he’ll be fine,” Sirius assured her. In the next moment he was screaming at the top of his lungs. “James if you let those dirty Ravenclaws win I’ll castrate you!” 

The game was getting intense. The score was nearly identical and the crowd was going wild. Whichever seeker caught the snitch would win it all for their team. 

“Look, over there!” Peter pointed to the far right of the field. The golden snitch was hovering just in front of the section where the teachers were seated. Only a few seconds passed before it darted across the field and in view of both seekers. 

The crowd’s cheering grew to an insane level as the seekers battled it out. At the same time, the other players got more intense. Defenses were tightening up and both teams were trying to get more scores in. Just as things were starting to heat up, a bludger flew into a player’s side. (Y/n) watched as the victim fell off his broom and landed on the ground. She gasped and got on the tips of her toes to catch a glimpse of him over the crowd, but her face paled once she saw the state he was in. 

Arms were most definitely not supposed to bend that way. (Y/n)'s throat tightened up as she began to retch. She was the worst when it came to pain and gore, and the player's arm definitely fit both categories. Her legs became shaky as she began to imagine the agony the player must have been in. 

“(Y/n), are you alright?” Remus gave her a concerned look and upon seeing her struggling state he wrapped an arm around her for support. “You’re so pale! Peter, help me carry her out of the stands, she needs some air!” 

Both boys took hold of her sides and ushered her down to the grassy field behind the stands. Once there, she got on her knees and began to take deep breaths. Remus immediately knelt at her side and placed a hand on her back. 

“Go get her some water. I’ll stay here and make sure nothing happens,” he told Peter. The boy nodded and ran off in the direction of the castle. 

“His arm...was...backwards.” (Y/n) gasped as she spoke. The mental image was burned in her mind and she desperately wanted to get it out. “Sorry...for taking...you away from...the game...” 

“Don’t worry about that. Sirius and James can fill me in later. Are you feeling any better?” 

She nodded. “I--I think so.” 

“Good. Here, I have some chocolate. It might help.” Reaching into his pocket, Remus broke off a small piece of chocolate from a good sized bar. (Y/n) gratefully took it and placed it in her mouth. 

“Thanks Remus.” 

“Don’t thank me until you’re back on your feet,” he told her. “You really had me worried back there. I thought you might faint.” 

(Y/n) shook her head. “I know I look bad, but I’d like to think I’m not that fragile.” 

“I’ve got some water!” Peter quickly jogged up to his two friends. “I wasn’t sure whether it should be cold or room temperature, so I put a bit of ice in it.” 

“Thanks Peter,” (y/n) said as she took the cup in his hands and downed the contents. “Really, you guys shouldn’t worry. I feel a lot better.” 

“It was incredible! I can’t believe you all missed it!” Sirius was the first to emerge from the large crowd exiting the stands. “James dove after the quaffle and scored right before our seeker caught the snitch! The crowd went mental!” His energetic smile faltered when he got a good look at what was going on. “Why are you two on the ground?” 

Holding out a hand for (y/n), Remus got them both off of the grass. “(Y/n) wasn’t feeling well so we stepped out. Didn’t you notice?” 

“Of course he didn’t,” Peter teased. “He was too busy watching his boyfriend.” 

Sirius smirked and crossed his arms. “Don’t be jealous just because you don’t have what James and I do. Now come on, he’ll be expecting us.” Sirius lead the way as the four of them went off to see James. During that time, Remus was careful to never leave (y/n)'s side in case she felt ill again. 

**Full Moon:**

This was the fourth month in a row that Remus went off to visit his mother for the weekend. Each time he returned he had a few new scars on his face and arms, but no matter how much (y/n) pressed him on the matter he never told her where they came from. By now, she was starting to suspect the worst. Was his mother abusing him? Was someone else in his household torturing him? The thought of it was nearly too much to bear. 

Remus didn’t deserve to be hurt like that and if he would only open up about his situation at home then (y/n) would be more than happy to help, but until then she could only do her best to sooth the pain of the new scars he returned with. 

Tossing the blanket off of her body, she got out of bed. She was too worried about her friend to sleep so she walked over to the window. Using her sleeve, she wiped it down a bit until she had a clear view of the full moon. Its light made everything look peaceful and serene. It was hard to imagine that just a short ride away Remus was getting horrible scars. 

Hugging herself, she placed her forehead directly on the window and closed her eyes. Silently, she sent a prayer up to the moon. 

_Please let Remus be okay._

She didn’t even realize she had fallen asleep by the window until the first rays of light hit her eyelids, effectively waking her up. Rubbing her eyes, she first noticed how stiff her body felt from leaning against the window all night. The next thing she noticed was the unmistakable form of Remus walking up the path to the castle. 

She didn’t even bother changing out of her pajamas. She quickly put on her shoes and raced out of the common room. It was so early that not even the professors were up. The corridors were completely empty as she ran through them. Once she made it to the front entrance, she plastered a grin on her face. 

“Remus!” She jogged down the path and met him in the middle. He jumped in surprise once he caught sight of her. She wrapped him in a hug and quickly looked him over. 

“(Y/n)? What are you doing up at this hour?” 

“I fell asleep by the window and the sunlight woke me, but I’m glad that it did! I was so worried about you!” 

Remus blinked as he registered her words. “Worried? Why would you be worried?” 

Biting her lip, she frowned. “Every time you go to visit your mother you come back with more scars. Honestly Remus, you can tell me if she’s the one who gives them to you. I want to help!” She took a good look at his body. His hair was a mess and his shirt was wrinkled beyond belief, but she saw no signs of new scarring. It did nothing to calm her nerves, though. The could easily be hiding under his clothes. 

“You shouldn’t worry about me. I can handle myself.” His words were uncharacteristically curt and tense. He obviously didn’t want to have this conversation. 

“Please just promise me that you’ll tell me or the guys if things get too rough to handle.” She looked at him with pleading eyes and he sighed. 

“Alright. If the time comes where I can’t handle it I’ll let you all know.” 

Smiling, she caught him in another hug. This time, he returned it. 

“We better get back inside before a teacher finds us,” she said. 

“Or even worse, Filch,” Remus added. Grinning, the pair headed back to their respective common rooms until it was time for breakfast. 

**Valentine’s Day:**

“You’re a complete ass to her best friend. She’s not going to date you,” (y/n) warned James, who was busy running a hand through his hair. He had been trying to impress a young witch for weeks and each time she turned him down. 

“Persistence is key. Eventually I’ll wear her down,” he stated. “How do I look?” 

“Like a gust of wind came by and blew your hair back,” Peter said. The description was accurate. The front part of his hair was pushed back so it was no longer in his face. 

“Perfect. Wish me luck,” he said as he headed off to where Lily was talking with a few other girls. His call of “Oi, Evans” echoed through the corridor as (y/n) physically cringed. 

“He’s going to crash and burn.” 

Sirius shrugged as he watched the scene James was creating unfold. “It just fuels his fire for the next confrontation.” 

As Lily began to tell James off, Remus tisked. “Guess it’s a no yet again.” 

James returned to the group and did his best to play off what had happened. “I’m telling you, I’m getting to her. She’ll crack by this time next year.” 

“Five galleons says she won’t,” Sirius wagered. James smirked and pushed up his glasses. 

“I’ll take those odds.” 

The group of kids walked into the Great Hall and settled in for dinner. Peter and (y/n) were the first to start eating while Remus and Sirius continued to tease James over his latest failure with Lily. 

“You two are all talk. I’d like to see you do any better,” James said once all the teasing had finally gotten to him. “Sirius, you’re always saying how you could get any girl at the school, so why don’t you prove it?” 

Sirius took a sip of his drink and shook his head. “I could get any girl here, but do they actually _deserve_ me? The best thing for me to do would be to keep my options open and that’s not going to happen if I suddenly start asking people out.” 

James rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Alright Remus, what’s your excuse?” 

He shrugged. “I’d rather focus on my studies and friends for the time being. Besides, there’s no one that I fancy.” 

“Ugh, you’re all so boring,” James complained. “What about you (y/n)? You’ve always doubted my chances with Lily, but I’ve yet to see you try to shoot your shot with anyone.” 

“Why would I even try to?” Swallowing the food in her mouth, she waved her fork as she spoke. “We’re only first years. There’ll be plenty of time for dating once we’re upperclassmen.” 

“So then there’s someone you like,” James reasoned. 

Frowning, (y/n) crossed her arms. “What drove you to that conclusion?” 

“The only reason you gave for not wanting to date was that we’re first years. I’d think it’s logical to assume that there’s someone you fancy based off of that.” 

She shook her head. “James, you’re being ridiculous. I can assure you there’s no one here that I like.” 

“Aw, that just sounds like you’re trying to back out of it,” Sirius added. “Come on, we won’t tell! Who is it?” 

“I’m telling you there isn’t anybody! You boys are so impossible!” Huffing, she took another forkful of food into her mouth. “I can tell you this much, though. If I ever did fancy someone they wouldn’t be as insufferable as the lot of you.” 

“Oi, that hurts you know. I haven’t even said anything,” Peter complained. 

“Tisk tisk, (y/n). So cruel of you to paint us all with the same brush,” Sirius teased. 

(Y/n) rolled her eyes and ate as the boys continued to poke fun at her and each other. 

**Exams:**

It was officially the last exam of the year. (Y/n)'s quill glided over her parchment as she wrote her essay. Her writing only ceased when she dipped her quill into the ink pot sitting at the corner of her desk. The professor slowly walked through the classroom to ensure no one was cheating. The small pocket watch in his hand sent a constant reminder that there was only so much time to finish this paper. 

“Five minutes remain,” he announced. The sound of quills hitting parchment intensified and was accompanied by a few panicked groans. Students were becoming frantic. 

Looking to the side, (y/n) caught glimpses of the boys. Remus looked to be finishing up his essay while Sirius’ parchment was still half blank. Peter was among the students frantically trying to get all their thoughts down and James was leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head. 

Turning her attention back to her own work, (y/n) urged her hand to move faster. The extra speed was smearing the words ever so slightly, but she didn’t care as long as it was legible. Finishing was the top priority. 

She finished her last sentence as the teacher told everyone to put down their quills. She let out a relieved sighed as her work was collected and she was dismissed. She waited outside the door for the rest of the group to appear. James was out first, saying that the essay had been a breeze. Supposedly he had managed to finish it in half the time the other students had needed. Next was Peter, who was slightly nervous as he had to cut his conclusion short. Sirius joined the fray, saying that he kept his essay short and to the point. Finally, Remus came out. 

“I can’t believe that was our last exam. It was surprisingly easy,” he mused. 

“If it was so easy then why’d it take you so long to finish?” James cocked his brow, obviously boasting that he had been the first to finish his essay.

“Some of us like to be thorough,” Remus reminded him. 

“There’s such a thing as too thorough, though. My essay covered too many topics,” Peter complained. “I hope the actual content makes up for the awful conclusion.” 

“Ah, there’s no point in worrying about it now,” James assured him. “Even if you fail the essay I’m sure your class grade will save you from repeating.” 

Sirius laughed. “Yeah, the exact opposite strategy of yours!” 

(Y/n) cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?” 

“James slacks off on his classwork so his grades are abysmal, but he has supernatural talent when it comes to exams,” Sirius explained. “These finals will bring his scores back from the brink of extinction.” 

“Still, it’d be a lot easier to just do the work throughout the year. It’s too risky to bet everything on the exams,” Remus pointed out. “Besides, some smarts might actually seep into your thick skull if you let them.” He gently knocked his fist against James’ head for emphasis. 

“Careful. We wouldn’t want you to kill off his last brain cell,” (y/n) warned as she caught Remus by the forearm. She lead his fist away from James’ head. “Lord knows he needs it.” 

“For what? I never see it getting used,” Remus joked. 

James frowned. “Hey, I’m not an idiot. Besides, you two have had your fair share of idiotic moments.” 

“Yeah, but they haven’t had as many as you, mate,” Sirius added. The back and forth teasing went on long after they had left the corridor. 

**End of the Year:**

The five friends crammed themselves into one carriage as the train began to depart. James and Sirius took up one of the booths while Remus and Peter sat in the other. Seeing as there wasn’t anymore space, (y/n) had to sit in Remus’ lap. 

It was hard to believe the school year had already ended. The last few months really felt like they had flown by. Time had gotten lost somewhere between classes, friendly teasing, and futile study sessions. It was a bittersweet feeling, knowing that they wouldn’t see each other again for an entire season, but this group wasn’t one to let negative emotions get them down. Their carriage was certainly the loudest as it was filled with laughter and banter. If these would be their last few moments together until the start of the next school year, then by god they were going to make them count. 

They spoke fondly of their time at Hogwarts and the memories they had made. It really felt like the school had become their new home. Just as they were recounting some of their newer adventures, the train came to a stop. It was time to get off and say goodbye. 

As they all gathered their things, they exited the train in unison. Right before they headed off to meet with their respective families, (y/n) stopped them. 

“I know we never discussed giving each other gifts, but I have something for each of you.” Opening one of her trunks, she pulled out four envelopes. She handed one to each boy and looked away in embarrassment. “You better not open those until I’m gone.” 

“Aww, look who’s gone all sentimental,” James teased. He used his finger to poke her cheek and she immediately swatted his hands away. 

“Oh shut up! You’re all idiots, but you’re my idiots. You can’t open them until you miss me, and you can’t miss me until I’m gone.” 

Peter ran his fingers over his envelope and frowned. “You really know how to make a guy feel crummy. I didn’t get you anything in return.” 

“That’s alright, I wasn’t expecting anything. Besides, it’s not like these are extravagant gifts. Just something to remind you of our time at Hogwarts until next year.” With that, (y/n) gathered her things. “I should get going. My parents are expecting me.” 

She gave each boy a small hug and walked off into the crowd. Once she was gone, each boy went off in separate directions. As Remus met with his family, he couldn’t help but be curious. He opened the envelope and examined its contents. 

The first thing he saw was a picture the group had taken around Christmas. In it, James and Sirius were in the back having a snowball fight while Peter, (y/n), and himself actually bothered to be in the foreground. Peter was waving and pretending to eat snow, (y/n) made a series of goofy faces, and Remus laughed at everyone’s antics. The picture looped after a stray snowball hit the back of (y/n)'s head. 

Remus chuckled to himself as he remembered that day. After the snowball hit (y/n), she declared both James and Sirius to be dead men. She joined in on their fight and soon everyone was being pelted with snow. The five of them had fevers for three days afterwards. 

Once he got his fill of the picture, Remus took the last thing out of the envelope: a handwritten letter. 

_Dear Remus,_

_This has been one hell of a year, hasn’t it? It’s funny to think that I owe it all to your brain. If you weren’t so good at potions I never would have become friends with any of you, so thanks for being a genius!_

_You better make next year as fun filled as this one. In fact, I’ll sue you if it isn’t. Still, I know you won’t let me down, especially since you have three months to think of different adventures. The clock is ticking though, so you better start brainstorming! I’m expecting excellence from you!_

_I know it’ll be a bit difficult to track me down in the Muggle world, so I’m leaving my address at the bottom of this parchment. Feel free to send me an owl any time. Preferably with a return address so I can send back any awful gifts._

_Well, that’s all for now I suppose. See you next year!_

_\- (Y/n)_


	2. Year 2

**The Hogwarts Express:**

Biting her lip, (y/n) hesitantly checked the time. There were only four minutes left until departure and three members of her quintet were no where to be seen. Only she and Remus had made it on the train and as the seconds ticked by they both feared they might be the only ones heading off to Hogwarts. Everyone knew the train left at 11 o'clock without fail or exceptions. If James, Sirius, and Peter didn't arrive soon then they'd be left behind and miss an entire term.

"Do you think they'll make it?" Getting up from her seat, (y/n) opened the compartment door and stared out into the hall. It had been months since she'd seen her friends and now there was a possibility that she wouldn't see them until after Christmas.

"I'm sure they will. They're not _that_ irresponsible," Remus assured her, but it did nothing to calm her nerves. It was rather obvious that Remus was beginning to have his doubts as well.

Suddenly, (y/n) felt someone slam into her. She was knocked back against the compartment window as she tried to regain her footing. Huffing, she looked up to see who was so careless that they didn't manage to notice her standing in the doorway.

"Peter?" 

(Y/n)'s annoyance evaporated as Peter leaned against the door frame for support. He must have realized he was going to be late; his panting and the sweat on his forehead were obvious signs that he had been running. The poor boy couldn't catch his breath.

Remus scrambled to make room for Peter. "Christ, sit down before you faint! What took you so long to get here?!"

Peter gratefully let himself collapse on the booth. "I overslept. I literally ran all the way here." His explanation came out in one strained breath. "You two wouldn't happen to have any water, would you?"

Both Remus and (y/n) shook their heads apologetically. Settling back down into her seat, (y/n) turned her attention back to the door. "Did you see James or Sirius on the way here? The train is leaving in," she looked down at her watch and her face paled, "two minutes."

"They're not here yet?" Peter's wide, concerned eyes answered (y/n)'s question. James and Sirius where no where to be seen and at this rate they would be left behind for sure. Given their behavior and attitudes, their tardiness shouldn't have been a surprise, but this was unacceptable.

The three friends sat there in an uncomfortable silence as they continued to wait. Soon, the train's engine turned on and smoke began to fill the sky overhead. The three preteens looked back and forth between each other as they checked the time once more. Departure would begin in twenty seconds and the small group grimly began to accept that they'd only have each other for the coming term.

"Sugar quill, anyone?"

The small group jumped as Sirius walked through the doorway with several sugar quills in his fist. He smiled devilishly as he stuck one in his mouth and held out the rest.

"Where have you been?!" (Y/n) didn't have the will power to control the anger in her voice. "The train is about to leave! Where's James?!" 

"Right here," James said. He was standing behind Sirius and stuck his head into the compartment. "Honestly, you need to calm down. It's not like we missed the train."

As soon as he finished, the train lurched forward and began to move. Sirius sat in the empty spot by (y/n) while James was banished to the floor. 

"But you _almost_ missed it," Remus pointed out. "Another couple of seconds and you wouldn't have been able to board."

"Ah, you worry too much." Even though he was still working on the first one, Sirius opened another sugar quill and popped it into his mouth. "There's no way James and I would miss the beginning of this year. The thestrals are supposed to pull us into Hogwarts."

"I thought you could only see the thestrals if you've witnessed death," Peter said in an unsure tone.

"You're right, but it's the fact that we can't see them that makes it all the more exciting," James said. 

(Y/n) rolled her eyes. "Just don't go and do something stupid. If it were up to me both you and Sirius would be tied up so we could all keep an eye on you."

Sirius waggled his brows. "Tied up? Are those the kinds of fantasies you have about us?"

"Ew, no!" Her face twisted in a mixture of offence and disgust. "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Alright, enough you two," Remus cut in. "Let's talk about what we did over the summer."

And so chatter filled the small compartment until the train finally reached its destination.

**Transfiguration:**

(Y/n) sadly looked down at the bird she had been given. The class had already covered the theoretical principles of this spell, but as (y/n) looked into the bird's eyes she couldn't help but feel awful. If she made a stray wand movement or failed to pronounce the spell correctly it could end in disaster. The last thing she wanted was to be responsible for hurting this poor creature. In fact, she doubted she would forgive herself if she did any irreversible damage. 

Looking around the room, she saw that her classmates had all already attempted the Vera Verto transfiguration. Some had more success than others and the fear of being one of the unsuccessful ones froze her in place.

"Are you alright?" Remus leaned towards her and spoke in a low whisper. His bird had already been turned into a goblet and he was getting ready to turn it back. "You haven't even tried to do the spell."

Swallowing, (y/n) answered. "I know. I'm scared I'll hurt the bird," she admitted. 

"Ms. (l/n), please perform the spell. We don't have all day." Professor McGonagall sternly walked over to (y/n)'s desk. Crossing her arms, she gave the bird an expectant look.

(Y/n) felt her palms grow sweaty as she reached for her wand. Her brow creased with uncertainty as her voice and hand shakily performed the spell. 

"Vera Verto."

A green light emitted from her wand as the bird on her desk slowly began to morph into a goblet. About halfway through the casting, something went wrong. Instead of being a stainless crystal glass, the goblet was covered in blue and black feathers. (Y/n)'s mind immediately went into a panic as she set down her wand. She was certain she had somehow hurt the bird. Unsure of what to do, she looked up to the professor with helpless eyes.

Professor McGonagall pulled her wand from her robes and changed the bird back to normal. "A good first attempt, but it needs work. I suggest reviewing the chapter and trying again at the end of the week." With that, the professor returned to the blackboard and began a lecture.

As she looked down at the bird once more, (y/n) couldn't help but feel defeated. The bird looked back and forth in confusion while she whispered over to Remus. "You don't think I hurt him, do you?"

She saw him shake his head from the corner of her eye. "No, if you did he would have flown away by now. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You did better than a lot of other students." He took a moment to think before speaking again. "We can work on transfiguration homework together if you'd like."

The sound of chalk scraping against the board ceased as McGonagall's voice cut through their conversation. "Mr. Lupin, Ms. (l/n), do you two have something you'd like to share with the class?"

Both students averted their eyes from the humiliation of being caught. "No professor," they said in unison.

McGonagall gave them one final look of disapproval before returning her attention to the board. Once her back was turned, Remus shot (y/n) a sheepish smile that she shyly returned.

****Wizard's Chess:** **

****

****

James, Peter, and Sirius stared at chess board (y/n) and Remus were playing on. Five minutes had gone by, but neither one of their companions made a move. It was beginning to get exasperating. 

****

****

"Just move something already! How in the world is this considered a sport?!" Huffing, James shoved a nearby pile of Remus' books to the side 

"There are some things you shouldn't rush," Remus informed him. He looked over the board once more and decided on a move. "Pawn to A4." 

" _Finally_ ," James said with an exaggerated eye roll. 

There was a reason (y/n) and Remus were the only ones who used this board. The other boys had no interest in the game and, knowing them, they'd sabotage themselves just to see the pieces destroy each other. 

"You guys have no patience. Knight to C6," (y/n) said. She wasn't going to make the mistake of rushing this game. Every time she played against Remus he ended up beating her, and she swore that this would be the day he would be defeated. No amount of whining from the others was going to make her lose sight of her goal. 

Remus was quicker with his next decision. "Rook to A3." 

(Y/n) lifted a brow at this move. There were very limited choices Remus could make from it, so she had no idea what he was thinking. Looking at her own pieces, she tried to formulate a plan. 

"Pawn to G6." 

"Come on now, when are we going to get some action? Your pieces are practically a kilometer away from each other," Sirius complained. "Isn't the whole point of this game to break the enemies pieces?" 

"There's more to it than that. It's mostly about capturing the King. Rook to D3," Remus said while his eyes flickered across the board. 

Biting her lower lip, (y/n) looked at her options. She hated how hard it was to read Remus during these games. He always kept a calm demeanor that she had yet to master. It was blatantly obvious when she was feeling the pressure. After some careful consideration, she moved her Knight to B4.

And so, the game continued back and forth in much the same manner. Much to James and Sirius' displeasure, the number of destroyed pieces was kept to a minimum as both players preferred to play on the defensive. Nearly forty-five minutes had passed before the game was anywhere close to over with both Remus and (y/n) being down to three pieces. They each still had their King, but Remus' final two pieces were a Rook and a Bishop while (y/n) had two Knights.

"Sacrifice! Sacrifice!" Sirius began chanting and beating his hands against the table in hopes that one of them would just throw in the towel and allow their pieces to be destroyed. Both James and Peter began to chant along, causing a scene.

"Quiet, I'm trying to concentrate! Knight to E7." The pressure was starting to get to her. Remus' piece could more or less move freely while she was limited to L shaped moves. All in all, this wasn't looking good for her. Her only hope would be for Remus to screw up.

Her hope for that evaporated when she heard him give a light chuckle. "You've lost one of your Knights, (y/n). Bishop to E7."

As she watched the Bishop break her Knight into pieces (y/n) cursed herself for not seeing that move. Without that Knight she knew she was done for, and Remus proved it by finishing the game in two more turns. Angered by her defeat, she pulled out her wand and reset the board.

"Rematch," she demanded.

"No! We'll be here for hours at this rate," Peter whined. "Can we please do something else?"

(Y/n)'s brow furrowed in defiance. "We can do something else once Remus loses."

"Just throw the game," James suggested to Remus. "Then we can all get on with our lives."

"What? It won't count if he loses on purpose! I want to win fair and square," (y/n) said. 

Holding up his hands, Remus tried to keep the peace. "We can play again some other time (y/n). We've been sitting around for too long either way. We could use a change of pace."

The other three boys beamed at the words. James threw and arm around Remus and flashed a grin. "That's what I like to hear! Come on, let's see what Snivellus is doing."

"Good idea! He's probably in the courtyard," Sirius said. 

"You two torture that poor guy," (y/n) chastised. "I know you don't like him, but it's not like he goes out of his way to bother you like you do with him." 

"What do you mean? He jinxed us last week," James reminded.

"Yeah. Only because you jinxed him first," (y/n) pointed out.

But there was no stopping the delinquent duo. Only a few more sentences were said before they had the whole group heading out to the courtyard.

**Full Moon:**

"Doesn't anyone else find it a bit odd that Remus is always leaving school around the full moon?"

Sirius, (y/n), and Peter sat in the grass as James paced across the field. Remus was in the common room packing a few things because his aunt had suddenly fallen ill and he had to see her before her health got any worse.

"He always goes to visit family. I think the moon thing is probably just a coincidence," Peter said while picking out handfuls of grass.

Clicking his tongue, James shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "It just feels off. He leaves every month and no one bats an eye. Sometimes he'll leave in the middle of the week!" He stopped pacing long enough to stand in front of the group. "And he always comes back a day or two later. I don't care what kind of situation is going on at home. There's no way a student should be allowed to leave school that often."

"You know, I do kind of agree with you," (y/n) said. "He always comes back with new scars and at first I thought his parents might be abusive, but he keeps telling me that isn't the case. That makes me think he goes off somewhere else during these trips."

"You see?! Something fishy is going on here! The whole visiting family thing must be a lie," James mused as he resumed his pacing.

Crossing his arms, Sirius' lip cocked up in a smirk. "Well as long as we're going to overthink things we might as well go full on conspiracy. What if he's a werewolf?" When all three of his friends turned to look at him, Sirius continued. "Think about it: he comes up with lies, leaves school every month during the full moon, and comes back with several scars. It seems to fit the werewolf bill to me."

(Y/n) gave his shoulder a harsh shrug. "Don't joke around like that. We're being serious."

"I'm also being Sirius," Sirius teased.

"You know what I mean," (y/n) told him.

"If you guys are that concerned why don't we just follow him when he leaves tonight," Peter suggested.

"How would we do that? We're not exactly inconspicuous. He's spot us in a second," (y/n) pointed out.

"Well, if we're going to do this then we might as well fill her in," Sirius said while looking at James.

"Agreed. Follow me," James instructed. The whole group followed James back to the castle and up into the Gryffindor common room.They greeted Remus, who had already gathered his things and was heading out. Once he was gone, James sprung into action.

"We need to hurry or we might lose him," he said. Getting on his knees, he pulled something out of his bed.

"A blanket? How is this going to help us?" (Y/n) stared at the bundle of fabric in James' arms with confusion. He dragged her all the way up here for this?

"It isn't a blanket, it's an invisibility cloak," he told her. "As long as we're under this Remus won't know we're following him."

(Y/n)'s jaw dropped. "And how long have you had this?"

"Since last year. I guess a time to tell you never came up until now." James threw the cloak over himself and vanished from sight. "Are you guys coming or what?"

Sirius was the first to step forward. Reaching out towards the air, he grabbed a handful of the cloaks material and went inside. Next was Peter, who took a few seconds to adjust himself comfortably. Finally, (y/n) blindly reached out in front of her. She was trying to grab the material, but nothing was coming up.

"Did you guys move just to mess with me?" She frowned before she saw three hands grab her wrists. "Hey!" The boys pulled her towards them and shrouded her in the cloak.

Their bodies were all crammed together so the cloak could cover them all. Already they were building up heat, and it was clear that they'd soon start sweating.

"Alright, we need to move fast," James reminded the group. "We have to keep together or else one of us might get uncovered. On three we'll head towards the door, starting with the right foot. Ready? One, two, three."

The plan James had come up with was easier when said than when put into practice. The four preteens struggled to get out of the common room and down the stairs. The fact that the stairs were constantly moving was certainly no help, but they were determined to see this all the way through. They stumbled and struggled all the way to the school's entrance where they finally caught up to Remus. 

They slowly began to close in, but they stopped in their tracks when Madam Pomfrey came rushing out to meet Remus.

"What's she doing?" Peter craned his neck to try to get a better view.

"Quiet," James whispered. "They might hear us."

The group watched Madam Pomfrey and Remus exchange a few words before looking around for any other students or staff members. When they were sure they were alone, they quickly walked off to the side. As the four friends began to follow them, their eyes grew wide when they realized where they were going. This path would take them straight to the Whomping Willow.

"Does Madam Pomfrey let the Whomping Willow beat on him every month?!" Sirius' question came out in a shocked whisper.

"Shh. We need to keep it down," (y/n) reminded, but she couldn't hide how horrified she was. Everyone knew how dangerous the Whomping Willow could be and these two were willingly going towards it!

Once the tree came into view a worried air overtook the space under the cloak. James, Sirius, Peter, and (y/n) all looked at each other, unsure of what to do, but their jaws dropped when they saw Remus walk up to the willow and press its base.

The tree was completely immobilized. Not even the leaves made a single movement as Remus walked past the tree and disappeared through a small hole. Once she was sure he was gone, Madam Pomfrey headed back to the castle. 

"Still think he's going off to visit family," James asked Peter. Taking a step forward, he urged the group to follow Remus through the small opening in the ground before the willow became active.

It was a tight squeeze, but all four of them fit through the opening before falling down the steep hole. Miraculously, the cloak didn't slip off during the fall and after dusting themselves off the continued on until they found themselves in a large, abandoned house.

"It's filthy in here," (y/n) pointed out before being shushed by all three boys. 

They explored the house a bit before settling on watching Remus. He was nervously pacing back and forth, muttering inaudible things to himself. It was a rather curious sight to see him so distraught. For a while his friends didn't know what to make of the situation. They shot each other confused looks as they all wondered why Remus had been sent down here. 

Well, once nighttime fully fell, they got their answer.

Once the full moon was overhead, Remus' pupils doubled in size and he dropped to the floor in a panting mess.

"Oh my god!"

"Christ!"

"What the bloody hell?!"

"What's happening?!"

The four friends couldn't stop the shocked words that came tumbling out of their mouths. Remus was on the floor shaking and soon his body began to contort into something entirely new. His spine curved, his limbs became long and scrawny, and fur began to cover his skin. Within seconds Remus was gone and a werewolf was standing in his place.

(Y/n), James, Sirius, and Peter watched in horror as Remus began to whine and bite himself. Blood began to pour down his legs, making him howl and scratch at anything he could reach.

"Sirius, what was it you said earlier about werewolves?" Peter's question came out in a choked manner as he tried to hold back his fear.

Sirius shook his head in shock. "I don't think I've ever felt this way about being right."

Suddenly, Remus' ears perked up. His snout twitched as he began sniffing the air around him and soon his lips curled back in a snarl.

"Do you think he knows we're here?" (Y/n) subconsciously took a step back.

"That's a possibility, yes," James said.

"Well then we should probably get out of here," (y/n) pointed out.

Trying their hardest not to make a sound, the friends inched their way out of the house. Once they were back to the tunnel, all thoughts of staying hidden were disregarded as James took the cloak in his arms and all four preteens raced out. After clawing their way back to ground level, they cried out in fear when they realized the Whomping Willow was once again fully active.

"Turn it off! Someone get to the base," Sirius barked as he dodged a branch. 

"We're all a little busy at the moment," James yelled back. He barely managed to side step the tree's attack.

"I'm on it!" Peter ran as fast as he could and practically threw himself to the tree's base. He quickly found a knot there and pressed it, stopping the Willow's attack.

"Good job Peter," (y/n) congratulated while catching her breath. Once the adrenaline wore off, reality came back to her. "What are we going to do? We can't just leave Remus there and let him hurt himself."

"What more can we do? He might attack us if we go back for him," Peter pointed out.

They all walked back towards the castle while staring up at the moon. It looked the same as it did every night, but there was no denying that it felt different. Now that they knew what really happened to Remus every month they doubted they would be able to look at it the same way again.

"We should tell him that we know," James said. "And we should make sure he knows it doesn't bother us." He gave everyone in the group a pointed look. "It _doesn't_ bother you guys, right?"

"Why would it bother us? It's not like it's his fault this happens," Sirius said. "I'm not well versed in werewolves, but I'm pretty sure they don't remember what they do when they change. I think it's a lot harder on him than it is on us."

"I agree," Peter said. "He can't help it and now that we know about all this he needs us more than ever."

They all looked at (y/n). "He' still Remus and he's still our friend. It'd take a lot more than this to drive us apart."

James smiled. "Alright then, it's settled. From here on out we are sticking together to help him out during every full moon."

**Confrontation:**

(Y/n) stared at Sirius with wide eyes and an open jaw. Had he never heard of tact and discretion? There were things that needed to be eased into and it was bad taste to just blurt them out, but that was exactly what this idiot had done. It was a good thing they were alone in this part of the school, otherwise they would have found themselves in hot water.

"What are you guys talking about? You come up with the strangest things." Remus' smile was strained and he was trying very hard to keep his voice even. His face had turned two shades paler and his eyes nervously darted back and forth. "So why did you really want to talk to me?"

"I've already told you why. We know about the whole werewolf deal Remus, and honestly it doesn't bother us," Sirius assured him. "We want to help."

"Sirius, we were supposed to build up to the whole 'we know' thing, not start with it! Can't you see how uncomfortable you're making him?" (Y/n) glared at him with all the intensity she could muster, but before she could chew him out James jumped in.

"Two nights ago we took my invisibility cloak and followed you. We saw everything: Madam Pomfrey taking you to the Whomping Willow, the old house, your transformation. I know this is a huge deal for you, but it's just like Sirius said. You're our friend no matter what and we want to help."

Unable to meet their eyes, Remus looked down at his lap. "You really saw everything? And you're not...afraid of me?"

"Of course not! You'd never do anything to hurt us," (y/n) said.

"Not on purpose I wouldn't, but I'm different when I change. I have no control over what I'm doing---I'm an animal!"

"No, you're our _friend_ ," James assured him once more. "And right now the only person you're hurting is yourself. I don't know how, but I swear here and now that we're going to find a way to help you."

Remus began to feel his eyes water at his friends' kindness. He had always thought he would be abandoned by everyone he cared about if they were to find out about his affliction, but here they were, standing all around him and telling him over and over that this didn't change a thing about their relationship.

"Thank you. All of you," he said while holding back the tears.

"Ah, don't thank us until we figure out what we're going to do," Sirius said.

"Actually," Peter interjected, "I think I have an idea."

**Between Research:**

(Y/n)'s eyes felt bruised after several sleepless nights filled with reading. Peter had suggested becoming animagi months ago after being inspired by Professor McGonagall's transformations. It was a solid plan in theory; Remus wouldn't be interested in attacking other animals when transformed, but in practice it was proving to be nearly impossible. It was highly illegal to attempt to become an animagi without permission from the Ministry and since they couldn't come forward with what they were doing they had no one to turn to for knowledge. They had to rely on themselves and whatever they could find in the library.

James and Sirius were actually quite helpful with the research now that they were working on something that interested them. They had probably read the most books out of everyone in the group, showing just how brilliant they were. Whenever they all got together in the library it was obvious they had the potential to be top students in every class.

But despite all the books the group had pawed through, they still knew next to nothing about turning into animagi. More than that, (y/n) was beginning to have her doubts about undergoing the transformation. She knew she could get in serious trouble if she was caught trying to become one without permission; most people who attempted it were sent straight to Azkaban.

Still, these doubt made her feel guilty. The only reason they were doing all this work was to help Remus. (Y/n) felt like the hesitation was a form of betray to her friendship with him. Sighing, she closed the book she was reading and decided it'd be best to take a walk to clear her head.

The corridors were mostly empty and the air was nice and fresh. (Y/n) stretched and felt her back crack in satisfying release of stress.

"Another long night?"

"Remus!" She jumped back in surprise. "What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be having dinner?"

"Shouldn't you," he countered.

Her shoulders slumped. "Well yes, but I was busy reading about...you know."

His brows perked up. "Did you find anything?"

"Not anything useful. Mostly just more talk about how what we're attempting is highly illegal."

Something in her face must have shown how she was feeling. Remus took a concerned step forward and examined her expression. "Does that bother you?"

She wasn't about to meet his gaze. "A little? I mean, don't get me wrong, I do want to help you, but all that reading about Azkaban really has me shaken up. That, and there's the fact that I don't even know what I'd have to go through in order to become one."

"You know you don't have to do it, right? The fact that you're putting in all this work already means a lot to me. I don't want you to force yourself to do anything you aren't comfortable with."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Of course. Besides, I'm sure there are other ways you can help me, we'll just have to think of some. Why don't we join the others and discuss it over dinner?" He paused and then added, "and then we can ask James to let us borrow the invisibility cloak for the night. I know you love exploring in it."

(Y/n) smiled gratefully. "Sounds like a plan. Maybe I'll finally manage to catch Mrs. Norris tonight."

**End of the Year:**

The long, eventful year finally came to a close. It had certainly been more hectic than the last, what with the harder classes, unlawful research, a friend who was secretly a werewolf, and an invisibility cloak that had allowed the group to explore the grounds whenever they wanted. All in all, it was an eventful year.

Now that the group had grown closer, it felt even harder to say goodbye. The train ride left them with a twinge of sadness, but since these would be their last few moments together for the foreseeable future they made sure it was filled with laughs.

As the train arrived at the station, everyone gathered their things and headed out. It seemed none of them wanted to say goodbye as they soon became the only students who had yet to join their families.

"All I'm saying is if you don't want to be jinxed on sight next year you better write at least once every two weeks," Sirius told the group. "How else am I supposed to be sure you all haven't up and died?"

"It's three months. We won't die," James said while rolling his eyes, but he wore a bright grin. "Honestly, are you going to spend your entire summer waiting for owls like a young wife waiting for her husband to send her a letter from the war?"

The teasing continued back and forth for several minutes until it was time to call it quits.

"My parents are waiting for me, but I'll be sure to keep you all up to date with my life," Peter said while gathering his things. "See you in September!"

Sirius was the next to leave. "I better head out before mom has a heart attack. Regulus must be halfway home by now."

Then, it was (y/n). "I should leave too. You wouldn't believe how bad traffic gets around where I live." She gave James and Remus two quick hugs before heading out.

"Before you go I wanted to give you this." Remus handed her a small pouch made of felt. "I felt bad about not getting you anything last year, so here's something to make up for it."

"Thanks! I'll open it once I'm home," she assured him. "Bye!"

Once she was out of sight, James sighed. "And then there were two."

"Soon to be one. I should get going," Remus said. 

"Wait, what was in the pouch?"

"Well, aren't you nosy," Remus joked. "A necklace. I actually made it myself."

"Since when do you make jewelry?"

"Since three days ago. I'll see you next year." Waving, Remus took his things and began to head home.


	3. Year 3

**Sorting Ceremony:**

"Ravenclaw!"

Cheers erupted from the Ravenclaw table as a first year was sorted into their House. The sound was deafening, blocking out all other noise for a few good seconds.

Although she was sitting too far away to speak with them, (Y/n) saw Peter, James, Sirius, and Remus huddle together every time a new student was sorted. The loud clapping was the only thing that would cover up their discussion on what they had discovered about animagi transformations over the summer which, if the train ride here was anything to go by, wasn't much.

She was itching to group back up with them and start figuring out what they were going to do next. The library had been no help last year, so they'd need to find a new fountain of information. She was so caught up in her thinking that she didn't even bother to cheer when new students were placed in her House.

It wasn't until the feast appeared that (y/n) was able to get a hold of her mind. Once everyone was too busy to notice her slipping away she rejoined her friends.

"Hey, scoot over," she said once she was behind them. Peter and Remus moved apart so she could take a seat between them. "What are we going to do about you-know-what?"

"Well for right now we're trying to convince Sirius that his plan is horrid," Remus informed her. "He wants to ask Professor McGonagall how she became one."

(Y/n)'s eyes widened in shock, but before she could say anything Sirius jumped in. "It's going to be more subtle than that! It'll be a long process, but my thinking was that over time we can get her to tell us everything we need to know without her realizing it. You know, an innocent question here, a hypothetical one there."

"But what if she catches on to what we're doing? I don't think that'd go over very well," Peter said while hugging himself. "We could get in big trouble."

"Peter's right," (y/n) agreed. "Besides, you can't honestly expect us to believe you can be subtle. Remember what happened last time we tried to ease into a conversation?" She gave Sirius a pointed look and frowned.

"But this time we'll be careful not to messes up," Sirius defended. "We're never going to figure this out if we don't start taking some risks and McGonagall is the only person in the castle with the answer we need."

Suddenly, James jumped in. "Whether you lot like the idea or not Sirius is right. We're running out of options."

Silence fell on the group for a good while until Remus sighed. He ran a hand through his hair before addressing Sirius. "Give us until Christmas to try to find another way. If we can't, then you can start asking McGonagall."

Sirius thought for a second and nodded. "Alright, seems fair, but does this mean we have to go back to hitting the books?"

"Just until we find an alternative," Remus said. "We shouldn't worry about it for now. Lets eat."

The five friends began to fill their plates with the vast assortment of food available to them. They began to speak of more lighthearted things as they ate, but the problem at hand still nestled in the back of their minds.

**Muggle Studies:**

Once (y/n) was finished writing her last sentence she turned the parchment so Peter could copy her work. His marks at the end of the last school year had been abysmal; so much so that he had merely squeaked by. That meant that this year was going to be a long game of catching up. The only reason he had chosen Muggle Studies as an elective was because he knew (y/n) would help him.

"Don't make it so obvious that you're copying. Change some words," she whispered to him.

The boy nodded and quickly scribbled out a part of what he had written. He continued to write until a concerned expression took over his features. Pointing his quill towards another table, he whispered in a worried tone. "Those boys keep looking over here. Do you think they know I'm cheating?"

Not wanting to draw attention to them, (y/n) turned as discreetly as possible. Sure enough, two boys at another table had their eyes fixed on her. One of them turned away rather quickly, but the other smiled before patting his friend on the shoulder while suppressing a laugh. (Y/n)'s brow creased at the odd behavior before turning back to Peter.

"I don't think they know. They would have ratted us out by now if they did," she told him.

"So then why are they looking over here?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"Class is now over. Please hand in your assignments before heading out." The professor's words cut through the class and several students stood up to turn in their work while others rushed to write down a few more answers. Peter was among these students as he desperately tried to get everything down.

As he struggled to finish, (y/n) saw someone walk up behind her from her peripheral vision. Turning her head, she saw it was the smiling boy from before. His more timid friend was standing behind him, almost using him as a shield. 

"You're (y/n), right?" The confident friend asked the question casually, shifting his weight over to his right leg in a relaxed motion.

(Y/n) slowly began to gather her book. "Yeah. And you are?"

"I'm Lucas. This is my friend Noah," he nodded towards the boy behind him. "We were wondering if you were heading down to Hogsmeade this weekend."

Well, the majority of the third year and above students were going, so the question didn't make much sense. (Y/n)'s eyes kept flickering between the boys, trying to figure out what they were getting at. Although she felt uneasy, she answered as politely as she could. "I am. My friends and I were planning to explore it a bit."

"See, she's busy. We shouldn't bother her when she's with her friends." Noah spoke quickly as his cheeks began to turn pink. Before Lucas could say anything more, Noah pulled him away.

"That was...odd," (y/n) commented. "You done yet, Peter?"

"I think so. I'm sure this is good enough to pass," he said while standing up.

They turned in their assignments and headed off to their other classes.

**Hogsmeade:**

"I don't know about you lot, but I'm going straight to the joke shop," James announced to the group once they arrived in Hogsmeade. "There's bound to be something good I can use against Snivellus."

"We'll make it a challenge then. Whoever can find the better prank item gets to make the other carry their books for the rest of the month," Sirius added excitedly.

"Enough you two. Is torturing Severus all you think about?" Remus crossed his arms and gave them a stern look.

"No one's telling you to join in," James said. "You're free to have your own fun while we have ours."

With that, James and Sirius headed off to the joke shop. Upon Remus' request, Peter trailed behind them to make sure they didn't get too carried away.

"Want to walk around? See what we can find?" (Y/n) suggested this as Remus pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alright. At the very least it'll get my mind off of those two."

(Y/n) gave him a crooked grin. "Stop worrying about them, they'll mature eventually. You know they never listen to us when we try to reason with them anyways. No use getting wrinkles over it."

Remus chuckled before cocking his head to the side. "Come on, then. Lets see what we can find."

The walked in unison, taking in the simplicity of the quaint little village. Even with all the student buzzing about, there was still an overwhelming sense of calm in the atmosphere. The fall breeze was crisp and cool and the trees were alive with various hues of red and yellow. 

Suddenly, Remus stopped dead in his tracks. His body tensed up as he looked over to a crowd of whispering students.

Puzzled, (y/n) followed his gaze and did her best to look over the bodies of the whispering students. She could see the top half of an old home with boarded up windows. Something about the architectural work seemed eerily familiar when suddenly the words 'Shrieking Shack' drifted over to her from the crowd.

Her face scrunched up as she did her best to visualize the old, abandoned house she and the others had first discovered Remus' secret in. If her memory served her, the layout of that house and this one were identical.

As she turned to Remus, she got the confirmation she needed. His face had turned pale as the student continued to discuss the house and the strange noises that came from within it every month. The so called Shrieking Shack was most definitely the place Remus went to transform.

She quickly took his hand in hers, the unexpected gesture making him focus on her. "Want to go over to Honeydukes? I hear they have the best sweets in all the Wizarding World."

He blinked a few times, swallowed, and shallowly nodded his head. "Yes, alright."

Seeing as he was still shaken, (y/n) kept a firm grip on his hand as she lead him away from the gossiping crowd and towards the sweet shop. She held the door open for them as they stepped inside and began to look at the candy on display.

"Doesn't it smell good in here?" She gave him a bright smile, doing her best to lighten his mood.

The corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly. "It does. I'm fairly certain we're smelling a fresh batch of fudge. I heard the owners make it themselves from scratch."

"Well then lets get ourselves some fudge." She lead him towards the front counter where they stood in line. There were only two other customers ahead of them, so the wait wouldn't take very long.

"(Y/n)? Fancy meeting you here."

Turning around, (y/n) saw Lucas get in line behind her. He was carrying several hard candies in his hands.

"Oh, hi Lucas," she answered.

"I got the jelly slugs. Next time don't leave while I'm in the middle of browsing." Noah walked up to his friend, but stopped when he caught sight of (y/n). "(Y/n)! I didn't think we'd run into you. I mean, we knew you were coming but this is still...unexpected," he rambled before shutting himself up. Clearing his throat, he did his best to keep his voice even. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," she answered. From the corner of her eye, she saw Remus give the three of them a slightly confused look. "Remus, this is Lucas and Noah. They're in my Muggle Studies class. Lucas, Noah, this is my friend Remus."

"Pleasure to meet you," Remus said as he extended his right hand. 

Neither of the two made any moves to shake it, but Lucas' brows lifted slightly as he gave a crooked smile. " _Friend_ , right? Is platonic hand holding all the rage now?" He nodded in the space between (y/n) and Remus where their hands were still connected.

They broke their hands apart, clearly self conscious. "He moves a lot faster than I do. I didn't want us to get separated," (y/n) said. 

"Right," Lucas said with laughter in his eyes.

"You want to go somewhere else? The candy really isn't that important," Noah muttered while looking down at the ground. His cheeks were dusted in the same pink hue they had had earlier in the week.

Shrugging, Lucas put his candy down on a nearby display. "If you say so. Come on."

The two boys left the shop just as it was Remus and (y/n)'s turn at the counter. They paid for some fudge and walked out with a full bag.

"I think that Noah boy has a crush on you," Remus said while taking some fudge out of the bag.

"What? You're crazy."

"Am I? He rambled on in front of you and started blushing towards the end. Plus his friend did most of the taking for him," Remus reasoned.

"And? That doesn't mean anything. We do most of Peter's talking all the time," (y/n) defended.

"That's different."

"How is it different? I think you're reading too much into it."

"Well you're reading too little."

(Y/n) frowned and took a bit of fudge for herself. "What does it matter anyways? I barely know him." She took a bit out of the rich chocolate before wagging her finger in Remus' face. "You better not tell the others what happened back there. James and Sirius will never shut up about it if you do."

"I wasn't planning on telling them," Remus said while laughing. "Stop chastising me like a mother."

The pair stood outside the shop talking for a while longer before heading off to regroup with their mischievous friends.

**Full Moon:**

The moon rested high in the night sky, making the time just about midnight. James, Sirius, Peter, and (y/n) were huddled together on the floor of the library with several books sprawled out in front of them. James' invisibility cloak was sitting off to the side, waiting to be used once the friends finished looking through the books in the Restricted Section.

The amount of trouble they'd get into if they were caught here was too great to imagine, but they hardly had a choice. None of the books in the in the rest of the library had been any help in their quest to become animagi and if any book in the castle had the answer they needed it would be in here.

"McGonagall is still an option," Sirius complained as he closed off his third book. He wrote the title on a piece of parchment the group was using to remember which books they had already looked through.

"Not until after Christmas she isn't. That's what we agreed on," (y/n) reminded him as her eyes scanned the book in her lap.

Next to her, James clicked his tongue. "You know, I expected this to be more exciting. Breaking into an off-limits part of the castle should have our adrenaline pumping, but so far all we've done is go through more boring books. These don't even seem all that different from the books in the rest of the library. Why are they restricted?"

"It's probably because these are high-level material. Nothing regular students should worry about," (y/n) reasoned. "Besides, we shouldn't complain about having to read a few books while Remus is experiencing a nightmare." She involuntarily shivered.

"Ah, chin up. We need to keep morale high, right?" Peter gave her a pat on the back before pulling another book from the shelf. As soon as he opened it, it let out a loud scream.

Sirius, James, and (y/n) covered their pain filled ears as Peter slammed the book shut and let it fall to the floor. Their eyes widened in panic as they did their best to hear if anyone was approaching. After several seconds of silence, they relaxed.

"Still think these books are the same as the rest," Sirius asked James, who shook his head in response.

The screaming book scared the friends enough for them to read in silence for the next several hours. Every so often, they'd cease their reading and send one person from their group to search the library for any staff members. 

Their bodies were stiff, their eyes were tired, and several of their limbs had fallen asleep due to resting on the hard floor. The morning sun was starting to peak through the horizon and it was officially time to head back to their common rooms. 

Gathering the books, (y/n), Sirius, and Peter began to place them back on their shelves while James finished the last few pages of the book he was working on. His eyes lazily went through the final page before widening in excitement.

Getting off the floor, he eagerly pointed to the last paragraph. "Look, look! It says here that a key ingredient to becoming an animagus is a mandrake leaf!"

"Does it say anything else?" (Y/n) looked over his shoulder to get a glimpse of the book.

"Well, no, but at least now we have a lead," James said.

"Good work, mate. You should tear the page out so we can show it to Remus later," Sirius said. James nodded and shoved the now ripped out page into his pocket.

The four teens huddled together as James draped the invisibility cloak over their forms. Walking as a unit, they left the library.

**Christmas:**

Snow covered the castle grounds in a thick, white blanket. Several students had gone off with their families for the holidays, but the sneaky quintet were among those who decided to stay. With the school this empty it was the perfect opportunity to continue their research.

The group rushed over to the greenhouse where (y/n) pulled out her wand. "Alohomora."

The lock holding the greenhouse door shut came undone and the friends quickly stepped inside. Each of them pulled their winter coats closer to their bodies for warmth.

"We have to be careful. We don't want to accidentally unearth one," Remus warned. He took a small bag out of his coat pocket. "We'll only take what we think we'll need."

It had been a few weeks since they had discovered mandrake leaves were needed in order to turn into an animagi, but the opportunity to take some had never come up until now. Peter stood watch by the door while his friends delicately removed the leaves of a few potted mandrake plants.

"We don't even know what we need them for. How will we know when we have enough?" James asked the question as he shoved a handful of leaves into the bag.

"I say we just fill the bag," Sirius suggested. "It's better to have more than less."

They gathered more leaves and placed them in the bag which was now starting to get full. Suddenly, Peter called to them from the door.

"Hurry I think I see someone coming!"

The four teens sprung into action, placing whatever leaves they still had in the bag before gathering their things and racing out the door. Peter locked the greenhouse once everyone was out and they all ran back towards the castle.

"This snow is too thick! I can barely get my feet through it," Peter complained as he began to fall behind the group. "Slow down!"

(Y/n) stopped in her tracks. Leaning over, she began to pant and saw her breath through the air. "Guys stop! Peter can't keep up!"

James, Sirius, and Remus stopped a few feet away. Their faces were a rosy hue from running in the freezing temperatures and their breath mixed together in a white fog. (Y/n) and Peter took advantage of their pause to catch up with them.

"We're all going to get sick if we stay out here," Remus pointed out. "We should get back to the room and hide these leaves somewhere."

James took off his glasses and wiped them on his scarf. "We can keep it the bag in the invisibility cloak under my bed. No one will see it." He held his now clear glasses a few inches in front of his face. "My breathing keeps fogging these up. I can barely see."

"Lets head back inside. There should be hot chocolate in the Great Hall," (y/n) said. 

As the group continued back towards the castle, Sirius smirked. "You know, it's Christmas day and we still aren't sure what we're doing. Come tomorrow I'll be able to work my magic on McGonagall."

(Y/n) frowned. "Remember to be subtle. If she finds out why you're asking her so many questions you'll have to face her wrath _and_ mine."

"Don't worry too much. We'll all keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't slip up," Remus assured her. "Right?"

James and Peter both nodded in agreement, but (y/n) wasn't convinced. If Sirius messed up they were all done for. They'd never figure this out and Remus would be forced to keep going through his transformations alone. Even though Remus looked calm and assured her that everything would work out (y/n) couldn't help but stare at the new scar on his chin and worry.

**Innocent Questions:**

The group carefully watched Sirius from the hall as he spoke with Professor McGonagall. He had been trying to get information out of her for months, but the woman hadn't budged an inch. It didn't help that he had to space out his questions as to not arise suspicion. It was now spring time and the boy had only managed to the Professor four other times.

"Professor McGonagall, was it hard for you to become an animagus?" He asked the question innocently.

"Well it was a lot of work, but any witch or wizard who puts their mind to it can accomplish it," she answered smoothly. "Of course, a third year such as yourself shouldn't worry about such things."

Sirius' brow creased. "Alright, but on a scale of one to ten, how difficult would you say the whole process is?"

"Mr. Black, are you interested in becoming an animagus?" Her question was curt.

Grinning, Sirius played it off. "No, I'm just curious."

McGonagall gave him a suspicious look, but answered his question. "The level of difficulty would depend on how patient you are I suppose. The process is very long and demanding. It's simpler when you have a mentor to assist you."

Sirius perked up at this. "There are people who just go around teaching others to become animagi?"

"Not exactly. There are older witches and wizards who are willing to take others under their wings and help them with the process, but not many. It becomes a whole ordeal, what with the Ministry needing to give out permission and then registering the animagi upon completion," she said. "Now if you'll excuse me Mr. Black, I have work to do."

As she walked away, Sirius' shoulders slumped. That discussion hadn't gotten him very far at all. In four months all he had managed to learn from McGonagall was that mandrakes were highly poisonous which meant they required diluting and that this was going to be a long process once they figured the rest out.

"So, how did it go?" James walked up to Sirius' side, followed by the rest of their friends.

"Not well. I learned that the process is long if that counts for anything," he said. "Also that there are some people willing to help people through the process, but we can't exactly take advantage of that. The Ministry would get involved."

"So basically we're no better off than we were before," (y/n) said. This whole thing was beginning to get frustrating. No matter how much time passed, no matter what they tried, it always seemed as if they were making no progress. "Remus and I searched through the Restricted Section last night. We found this," she pulled a folded paper out of her robes, "but not much else."

It was James who snatched the paper out of her hands. "An animagus potion?" He read through the page a bit more. "Really? All it's going to tell us about the potion is that we need a mandrake leaf and our hair?"

Remus sighed. "Well, if you keep reading it also says brewing the potion incorrectly can have disastrous consequences. I just wish we could find a source that wasn't so cryptic about the whole thing. I find it hard to believe no one else in history has tried to illegally become an animagi. There must be _something_ out there that can tell us straight out what we need to do."

Furrowing his brow, Peter stepped forward and folded the page in James' hand forward. "Is there anything on the back?"

(Y/n) shook her head. "Nope."

Sensing that his friends were growing more frustrated with their lack of information, Remus did his best to ease the tension. "What matters is that we have another snippet of information, no matter how small it may seem. We're a little closer to figuring this out than we were yesterday."

"Not much closer," (y/n) mumbled. 

"But it's better than nothing," Remus said. "We're doing our best and I honestly can't thank you all enough for all the work you're putting in for me."

Sirius gently punched his shoulder. "You don't need to thank us over and over again. Blindly searching for answers might be frustrating at times, but I'd also say that it's been fun."

"Do you think we should all make another trip down to the library later tonight," Peter asked.

The teens thought for a second and it was James who finally made a decision. "I think it'd be best if we actually got some sleep tonight. We can head down to the library tomorrow. It's not like we'll find much if we're exhausted." 

It wasn't until he mentioned sleep that everyone in the group realized just how tired they were. Keeping up with their schoolwork on top of secretly doing all this research was starting to take its toll on them. Even though the night was still young, they all decided to skip dinner and go to bed.

**Platform 9 ¾:**

"We can keep looking for answers over the summer and send owls if we find anything," James said to his friends as they all walked through the busy train station. They had just gotten off the train and were carrying their things to their respective destinations.

(Y/n) frowned. "Sorry I can't help with summer research. It's really annoying knowing you're all still hard at work while I'm just hanging around."

"Sorry?" James laughed. "What are you sorry for? You do most of the work during the school year. None of us go through those books as quickly as you do."

"James is right. Besides, those dark circles under your eyes will become permanent if you don't get some rest. One more book and I'm sure you'll look like a raccoon," Sirius teased.

"In case you haven't noticed your complexion isn't exactly flawless. You're all just as tired as I am," (y/n) said with narrowed eyes. "Your face is almost as pale as a ghost's."

Peter chuckled at the comeback while Remus stepped between the two. "We shouldn't be insulting each other during our last few moments together. We all worked hard this year and should enjoy some off time."

Their group stood at the station until they were picked up one by one. All the boys were heading back to their magical families, ready to uncover even more about the mysterious animagi potion. (Y/n), however, was going straight back to the muggle world, a place where she would be no help at all.

A feeling of uselessness washed over her and she resolved to work even harder during the next school year.


End file.
